Signs?

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Victoria25

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Just wondering apart from the usual textbook comments about bagging up, wax etc … what signs did your mare show that she was about to have baby that perhaps was personal to you?

Did they ‘let you know’ so to speak? My girl is on day 328 now and we have a special bond that Ive never had with any other horse and wondering if I'll 'know' … what have your mares done in the past when to tell you the time was close?? x
 
One of my mares shouts to me when she's ready. She makes sure I'm following and then she promptly makes her way down to her foaling box and pops the foal out! She's not one for hanging around. She's done this every year for the past 4 years and I suspect she'll do it again in a couple of weeks time. The others are far more 'normal' broodmares. The girls here please me a lot, they do their stuff in a timely manner and they allow me to do my stuff without complaint. They're all very good mothers and I very much enjoy being with them when they foal and in some way I think they like me being there too, or at least it always seems that way to me.
 
I've only had two foals, both to different mares, but both very close to me :) my old mare was very much like SF's, we waited up with her the night before thinking she would have it as she was spraying milk everywhere, bit of a clue !, but she switched off at around 2am, we watched from afar with a 'not too bright nightlight' on so we could just see into the stable, i deliberately didnt disturb her. she was kept in during the following day with someone keeping an eye on again from afar, i went back to the yard following a few hours sleep and she went mental when she heard my car, calling and wizzing round her stable. i went to check her and she calmed down, but when i went to speak to the yard owner to check on what she'd done during the day she went mad again, she didnt want me to leave her, within 20 mins her waters broke and she had the foal within a short while after. she's been a very special mare all the time i've had her, she's now 30 :eek: ! her foal is now 22 as of 3 april, dont know where the time's gone :confused:

the second mare was more recent and she too didnt want me to leave when i checked her, and again i tried to be as distant as possible when keeping an eye on her, she's been an excellent mum and very happy for the foal (now 2 year old) to come and say hello.

I did have both mares for around 5 years before foaling, so not sure if that makes any difference?

I did use milk testing on the more recent mare which helped tremendously to predict when she was going to foal, she was a maiden and didnt bag up very much at all, and in fact didnt wax up at all, the white milk didnt show untill the day before foaling so would highly recommend milk testing :)

best of luck and cant wait to see pictures :)
 
Ahh I so hope she 'tells me' like yours did. Ive had her 8 years and we've very close ... this was her last nbight when I arrived at the farm ha (this is a daily occurance) her head swirling is annoyance than we're not going up to the barn haha .. shes very impatient :rolleyes:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152714379240464&l=4527097284352297676

The yard is very open, we dont use headcollars so they come to call and they come and go as they please ... she follows me to the muckheap and prefers to stand with 'mummy' whilst the others are scoffing their faces ... x
 
Maybe mine don't like me - no encouraging signs other than the obvious :rolleyes:

The one sign that all mine have shown, from the usual list, is the very, very relaxed vulva. Once it is gaping then its not going to be long, not had one not to gape :p
 
Only had the experience with 2 mares.

1 mare, had her for 8 years. Her first foal, well i thought every sign would mean that tonight was the night. But the actual night she did foal the sign was unmistakable. She was very upset, i dont mean just the worried look, she paced continually, she sweated, she rolled. She really felt every contraction. But she didnt want me there. She waited until i popped out, when i came back foal was born. she was alot more relaxed with her 2nd foal, but was streaming milk. This freaked me out a bit, as my neighbours had done the same thing, and poor foalie needed plasma. Fortunately my foal was fine.

2nd mare, only had her for 3 months prior to foal being born. She waited by the gate to be brought in, popped her in her stable, she looked at me, then lay down and gave birth straight away. Both my children where present, and saw everything. What an amazing experience. She struggled a bit, so i had to help pull the foal out ( had stud on phone telling me what to do) I will never forget, as I was pulling the foal out, she opened her eyes and looked right at me.

Good luck, i hope you get to experience the foaling, its amazing to be there.
 
Mine have ranged from absolutely no warning what so ever, no waxing at all, one didn't even bag up fully until after the foal was born, some not even slackening off - nothing!, and behaviour wise racing round, rolling with the herd, eating normally etc then popping the foal out 10mins later in the middle of the field while I'm getting a cuppa!! To proper waxing/running milk, pacing, isolating themselves if with company, sweating up, digging their bed up totally if indoors, nickering at anything that moves including the dogs like it was a foal, runny poop for 12 hrs before, butt going totally slack you could get a truck out, off food, flehmen, colic symptoms etc, then popping baby out in full view of everyone!!:D

The last mare that foaled we checked her literally 10 mins before we noticed she was foaling, no signs at all, she was happily munching away in front of the house middle of the day. We went in and were just getting a sandwich when my sister looked out the window and saw said mare half way down the field just over the rise of the hill so we could only see the top of her, we just saw her tail flick up and then she lay down, we legged it outside with the camera and caught her just as the hooves came out - the sneaky old tart!!!:rolleyes:
I've only missed 4 births, by minutes usually, out of about 40 odd foalings so not too bad!!:)
 
Got one mare that has just foaled. She more or less shouted at me that she had taken (A mistake.....) but internal and bloodtest from vet meant that I believed she wasn't. Cue middle feb, riding her, massive thumping under my leg, waking up my suspisions again.
Look under and a hint of bag development. realise that her tail has got all soft. Hummmm, call vet, he comes 3 weeks later, by which time she has gained a lot of weight, and bag. confirmed in and "any day"
watch watch, waking up at night should i go (she had no milk)
ice, snow, heavy rains.
I actually had a bit of an instinct that he was coming that night.....couple little things, but she still had no milk, though her teats had changed, and he still hadnt turned.....the weight had been forward for about 3-4 weeks, but no change and point.
Night before she was a lot messier in her bed. She in 19/20 days really clean.
Day in field she had spent a chunk of time down on her side. as in soaking through the light rug she had on. Usually she has a roll, but that was different.
And I still missed it......... Her mum was notorious, I knew when, but was never there, even to the point that she foaled in the day when I was at work when I watched all night!!!!!
 
When you say hadnt turned .. how can you tell?

Last night I could actually feel/see a leg (Im assuming) across the top of her ribs x
 
Last night when my mum visited us, we both commented that my mare didn’t look as pregnant as she previously … like her stomach isn’t as big?? Does that make any sense and I panicked a little as she’d been racing about like an idiot all week … Ive just seen something on the web that says a horses stomach can change shape a week prior to birth as it moves into the birth canal – could this be what we commented on the night before? A leg (we assumed) was right up at the top of her ribs (horizontal) .. x
 
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